The Biology of Desire : Why Addiction is Not a Disease

Through the vivid, true stories of five addicts, a neuroscientist explains how addiction happens in the brain, and what we can do to overcome it. Doctors have branded addiction a brain disease, treating it as something which can be cured, or at least managed, by professionals. But in this riveting and provocative book - which tells the stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction - neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes the convincing case that addiction isn't a disease at all.

Instead, he argues that addiction is a normal neurological process: the brain seeking pleasure and then repeating the same thoughts and behaviours that lead to pleasure until they become a habit, or an addiction. Lewis shows why treatment based on the 'disease model' often fails, and how addicts can achieve lasting recovery using neuroplasticity. Through a combination of intimate human stories and robust, readable science, he offers a unique view on addiction which is both enlightening and optimistic.